Vostok Station Russian Antarctic Base

Vostok Station is the Russian Federation’s inland Antarctic research base, parked at roughly 3,488 meters elevation on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. It holds the record for the lowest naturally occurring temperature ever recorded on Earth (-89.2°C). The station operates year-round with a skeleton winter crew and a larger summer team. Resupply comes via tractor-train convoys from Mirny Station or by LC-130 aircraft — there are no roads in any conventional sense. It sits above Lake Vostok, one of the largest subglacial lakes on Earth.

Access is strictly through Russian Antarctic program channels. The nearest outside logistics hub is Hobart, Tasmania. No independent overland access exists — this is deep-field science territory. All visits require official coordination and support from AARI (Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute).

Earth's coldest place, above a hidden lake.